Super Hornet demonstrates network capability in multiple JDAM drop

April 19, 2006 As networks connect business and social communities by efficiently sharing information, so too do military networks and the drive towards a networked battlefield is now relentless. An example of the efficiencies available in the battlespace was recently successfully demonstrated when an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet provided targeting coordinates to other aircraft using the Raytheon APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system. During the test at the Naval Air Weapons Center at China Lake, Calif., an AESA-equipped F/A-18F created a long-range, high resolution synthetic aperture radar map and designated four closely-spaced stationary targets. The aircraft then data-linked two target designations to non-AESA equipped Super Hornets, which successfully delivered four 2,000-lb. Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). All four weapons impacted the targets within lethal distance. The targeting Super Hornet then used the AESA to provide highly detailed bomb damage assessments to confirm the hits.

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